Abstract

Paradoxically, at its moment of utmost insecurity, America gained a global moral hegemony. Condemnation of the9/11 attacks and outpourings of fellow human feeling with America generated a brief and unprecedented consensus ona global scale. This consensus made the job of securing approbation to acts of aggression relatively easy, effectively resuscitating American control. However, qualities of insecurity and consent are unstable across time. Every action taken by the American state since 9/11 to obtain greater security has whittled away the nation’s control over moral outrage and sympathy, particularly as these responses have relied on divisive models of collective identity.